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READ  AIVD  CIRCULATE. 


FACTS  FOK  THE  PEOPLE ! 


Addressed  to  the  Electors  of  IVisconsin. 


“  Truth  crushed  to  earth  will  rise  again, 
The  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers, 
While  Error,  wounded,  writhes  in  pain. 
And  dies  amid  her  worshippers.” 


THE  DEMOCRATIC  PLATFORM. 

7)  cMCtt^TTT, 

Resolutions  of  the  Democratic  State  Convention— Aug.  1857. 

Resolved,  That  the  Democratic  party  of  Wisconsin  arlWp  tohl  , 

the  ner.eo  ^"f^rably  °pp03ed  to  thc  “‘“Sion  of  the  right  of 
find  *  p"“«  ™  thTsutute  Bolksff  Wi8C0M?n  °f 

kept  completely  disengaged  from  participation  in  all  improvements  or  enter 
pnsea  which  properly  belong  to  localities  or  private  omaXations  and  th.t 

^rtvDCtoe  .dAmd0Ctrire  WiU  a,one  F«“™  OwSSS nt  from  be^ 

lived TlLd™ ^  °Ter-riding  “any  of  the  older  States.  E 

r"bi»  — v.  ..i .  w.  .,n»u..  „ 


2 


ACCEPTANCE  OF  MR.  CROSS. 

u  WrujAnv  T  ‘‘savdeb.s  Chairman  of  the  Democratic  State  Central  Com 

reply  .  Milwaukee,  Sept.  5,  1857, 

-nr  -rr  m  c.v  r>EES  Chairman  Dem.  State  Central  Committee  .  ...  f 

H  Sir-Tour  communication  formally  announcing  my  nomination  for 

vpcnl nt ions  passed  by  the  Convention  are  m  accoiaance  with  my 
views1  and  I  havePtherefore7no  hesitation  in  adopting  them  as  the  platform  upon 

"  ThanS  X!  "ttnUf,om°wtieh '  I  received  the  nomination  for  Oik 
manifestation  of  their  confidence  and  esteem,^  remain  truly  resentfully. 


HON.  JAMES  B.  CROSS. 

It  is  not  now  proposed  to  give  an  extended  sketch  of  the  worthy  and  popu- 
i  11  nm We  for  Governor  on  the  Democratic  ticket-though  we  might  truth- 
^wTpak  of  his  eX  Struggles  in  life-of  his  manly  course  in  the  Legislature, 
SiKffident  seiwtL  anfgreat  popularity  as  Mayor  of  Milwa^-aem^ 

three  s°t^”sdid  nttwisfi  to  exhibit  their  puny  weakness  by  mak- 

S2S 

Milwaukee— the  ^Wisconsin  and  the 

from  po^ticM  qiponents,  deserves  to  carry  weight  with  lt-and  tf  mU  uM  all 
reasonable  men.  ^  the  Wisconsm  of  August  28th  said  : 

be  too  plastic  in  the  X"  m?y  suck  out  the  substance  of  the  peo- 

upon  apopular  man— in  older  that  they  m  y  Uti  i  that  when  an  elector 
pie  "Wisconsin  ta i  so  many  ofttat ^^5°“ ^an,  but  an  oligarchy . 

Mr *  CkoIs  and  generous  impulses,  and,  therefore,  if  he  is  elevated  to 

‘he  Executfve  office  of  th/state,  we  trust  that  lie  may  be  his  own  counsellor, 

;‘e”sJ<tmed  ^ 

frieJ* in  oil  partie^’  “^d/S  ^"Jn  counsel^  -tffe  Sul 
^receivc^nT  detrime  nt.>}  These  are  very  strong  admissions  from  a  politics. 


3 


opponent ;  but  strong  as  they  are.  the  facts  connected  with  Mr.  Cross’  career 
and  character,  more  than  justify  all  that  is  here  said. 

When  Mr.  Cross  was  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  Gubernatorial  nomi¬ 
nation,  some  tew  of  his  malignant  enemies — for  what  man  of  mark  is  exempt 
from  envious  foes  ? — began  to  libel  and  slander  him  in  advance,  as  guilty  of  de¬ 
falcation  to  the  city  of  Milwaukee.  The  Wisconsin  published  the  report  of  the 
City  Comptroller  relative  to  the  matter,  which  showed  that  the  city  of  Mil¬ 
waukee  was  then  indebted  to  Mayor  Cross  about  $30,000  ;  and  the  Wisconsin 
noticed  the  matter,  as  follows  : 

“  City  Finances. — We  publish  in  our  issue  to- day,  the  report  of  the  City 
Comptroller,  relative  to  the  account  current  of  Mayor  Cross  with  the  City 
Treasury.  A  statement  had  been  in  circulation,  that  the  Mayor  was  a  defaulter. 
At  the  present  time,  when  Eastern  capitalists  are  particularly  sensitive  about 
the  financial  condition  of  Western  cities,  such  an  averment  was  calculated  to 
do  a  great  deal  of  injury  to  our  City  credit.  We  are  gratified  to  learn  frons 
this  official  statement,  that  Mayor  Cross  is  not  a  defaulter ;  that  every  bond 
placed  in  his  hands  is  accounted  for ;  and  that  so  far  as  his  official  influence 
could  be  exerted,  the  credit,  of  the  city  has  been  maintained.” 

A  recent  number  of  the  Free  Democrat,  edited  by  S.  M.  Booth,  contains  the 
following  manly  and  generous  notice  : 

“  The  Free  Democrat  has  never  preferred,  as  a  charge  against  Mr.  Cross,  that 
he  is  the  Barstvw  candidate.  It  is  because  James  B.  Cross  is  the  voluntary  as 
well  as  chosen  leader  of  the  Democratic  party,  with  such  aims,  and  devoted  to 
such  purposes,  that  we  oppose  his  election.  For  humane  feelings  and  for  acts  of 
personal  kindness,  Mr.  Cross  will  bear  honorable  comparison  with  his  neighbors. 
And  while  we  cheerfully  accord  to  him  what  is  justly  due,  as  a  man  or  a  citizen,  and 
shall  not  be  led  by  party  feeling,  to  misrepresent  him,  or  to  resort  to  any  tricks  oj 
dap-trap  waif  are  in  opposing  him,  we  cannot  forget  that  his  position  is  diametri¬ 
cally  opposed  to  the  principles  for  which  we  have  battled  all  our  life.” 

Such  is  James  B.  Cross,  the  Democratic  nominee  for  Governor.  His  very 
enemies  praise  him.  Ho  man  who  knows  Mr.  Cross  can  charge  him  with  dis¬ 
honesty  or  duplicity  :  and  he  has  proved  himself  an  admirable  and  impartial 
executive  officer,  by  the  manner,  in  which  he  has  so  faithfully  and  acceptably 
discharged  the  duties  of  Mayor  of  Milwaukee  for  the  past  three  years.  He  is 
now  presented  to  the  people  of  Wisconsin  as  a  candidate  for  the  highest  office 
of  the  State  within  their  gift.  He  has  often  been  tried,  and  never  found 
wanting.  Fellow-citizens — he  is  eminently  worthy  of  your  trust ! — a  man  who 
never  deceived  the  people,  but  has  always  done  more  and  better  than  was  ex¬ 
pected  of  him.  He  steadily  grows  upon  the  esteem  of  all  who  know  him,  or 
have  occasion  to  confide  in  his  integrity  and  faithfulness,  either  in  public  or 
private  life.  It  is  always  safe  to  honor  and  trust  sucli  a  man.  Like  that  nobLe 
old  patriot,  Andrew  Jackson,  his  faith  is  in  the  people!  He  has  proved 
himself  their  friend — their  honest,  faithful  servant ;  and  from  them  has  he  not 
a  right  to  expect  a  generous  confidence  and  an  unswerving  support  ? 


A  TRUE  PORTRAITURE  OF  A.  W.  RANDALL. 


When  a  man  presents  himself  for  the  suffrages  of  the  people,  his  previous 
career,  so  far  as  it  may  aid  us  in  determining  his  qualifications  and  fitness  for 
the  office  to  which  he  aspires,  is  a  legitimate  subject  of  investigation  With  this 
view,  let  us  candidly  dissect  some  points  in  Mr.  Randall’s  character — nothing 
extenuating,  nor  aught  set  down  in  malice. 

In  184*2  or  ’43,  A.  W.  Randall  sold  his  Whig  principles  to  John  Tyler,  and 
got  for  his  pay  the  appointment  of  Post  Master  at  Prairieville,  now  Waukesha, 
and  held  the  office  two  or  three  years  ;  when  he  became  a  defaulter  to  the  Gen¬ 
eral  Government,  and  his  sureties  had  the  entire  amount  to  pay. 

In  1848,  Mr.  Randall  joined  the  Free  Soilers,  and  was  a  candidate  the  fol¬ 
lowing  winter  at  Madison  for  United  States’  Senator,  but  sold  out  his  interest, 
influence  and  good  will  to  a  brother  Free  Soil  candidate  for  about  $200 ;  and 
the  same  night  exhibited  the  price  of  his  political  prostitution  to  a  Waukesha 
neighbor,  also  then  at  Madison,  and  boasted  of  the  deed  and  gloried  in  hir 


* 


4 


shame — that  citizen  yet  resides  at  Waukesha,  is  a  Fremonter,  but  no  admirer  or 
supporter  of  RandaLl. 

About  1848,  Mr.  Randall  had  a  note  of  about  $80  placed  in  his  hands,  as  an 
attorney,  for  collection,  by  Major  Meacham,  of  East  Troy,  Walworth  county, 
against  a  citizen  of  Waukesha.  Randall  collected  the  money,  and  appropriated 
it  to  his  own  purposes.  Major  Meacham  came  for  his  pay — Randall  was  short; 
said  he  hadn’t  collected  it ;  and  the  Major  desiring  the  note,  Randall  put  Him 
off  by  saying  he  had  mislaid  it,  but  would  find,  and  hand  it  to  him  in  the 
morning.  Meanwhile  Randall  went  to  the  maker  of  the  note  to  borrow  money 
to  pay  it,  so  he  could  say  to  Major  Meacham  that  he  had  collected  it ;  but  his 
friend  had  no  money.  Randall  then  asked  if  he  had  the  old  note;  it  was  found, 
but  with  the  signature  torn  off;  when  Rarndall  resorted  to  another  expedient, 
by  appealing  to  that  friend  to  write  a  new  note  ol  the  original  date  and  amount, 
that  he  might  rumple  it  up,  and  make  it  appear  old — the  maker  of  the  note 
agreeing  to  put  off  the  payment  of  the  note  a  short  time,  till  Randall  could 
make  a  raise.  This  was  done  to  accommodate  Randall,  and  save  him  ftom  dis¬ 
grace.  The  payment  was  conveniently  put  off  from  time  to  time,  but  the  maker 
of  the  note  some  two  years  afterwards  had  it  to  pay.  Thus  Randall  tricked  a 
client,  and  doubly  tricked  a  friend. 

These  are  plain,  unvarnished  facts.  And  in  addition  to  all  this,  the  records 
of  the  Waukesha  Circuit  Court  show,  that  Mr.  Randall  has  been  sued  by  his 
clients  for  money  collected  for  them,  which  he  had  appropriated  to  his  own  use. 

In  1853,  Mr.  Randall  voted  for  A.  F.  Pratt’s  stallion,  the  Badger  Boy,  in 
preference  to  either  E.  D.  Holton,  Henry  S,  Baird,  or  W.  A.  Barstow;  and 
he  has  frequently  boasted  of  it  publicly  since — even  since  his  nomination  for 
Governor  He  dares  not  deny  it. 

In  the  fall  of  1854,  Mr.  Randall  failing  to  get  the  Democratic  nomination  for 
Assembly  ran  as  an  independant  candidate ;  and  by  pledging  himself  to  the 
Germans  in  the  district  to  oppose  a  Maine  Prohibitory  Liquor  Law,  he  was 
elected.  Once  in  the  Legislature,  he  went  for  such  a  law,  saying  he  went  there 
“  unpledged,”  and  “  in  favor”  of  the  measure.  His  full  speech,  declaring  him¬ 
self  “unpledged  ”  and  “  in  favor  ”  of  the  Maine  Law,  may  be  seen  in  the  Stale 
Journal,  the  Republican  organ,  containing  the  legislative  proceedings  of  Feb. 
28th  1855.  He  has,  in  September  1857,  written  a  letter  to  Auguste  Pott,  a 
German  of  Sheboygan  stating  that  he  was  opposed  to  the  Maine  Law,  and  only 
voted  for  it  in  obedience  to  the  instructions  of  his  constituents  !  What  a  laby¬ 
rinth  of  deceptions  and  contradictions  ! 

Mr.  Randall  has  resided  seventeen  years  in  Wisconsin,  and  though  he  has  no 
family  but  his  wife,  he  has  yet  been  so  thriftless  and  so  wasteful,  that  he  has 
never  accumulated  any  property,  and  never  paid  a  cent  of  taxes,  except  perhaps 
a  poll  tax  for  road  purposes.  He  seldom  or  never  prepares  law  papers,  they  be¬ 
ing  done  by  his  brother — relying  for  his  success  as  a  lawyer  upon  his  “  gift  of 
gab,”  His  loafing  propensities  are  well  known  in  Waukesha,  where  he  plays 
games  of  ball  with  the  boys,  or  cards  at  the  taverns  and  saloons  for  “the  whis¬ 
ky”  or  “  the  cigars,”  with  mere  youths — and  so  openly,  and  brazenly,  that  all 
who  pass  can  frequently  see  him.  Could  a  man  so  thriftless  and  indolent,  be  a 
safe  and  proper  person  to  place  at  the  head  of  affairs,  often  of  the  most  momen¬ 
tous  importance,  of  this  great  and  increasing  State? 

His  trick  of  pretending  to  move  to  Milwaukee  this  summer  was  merely  for 
effect — having  the  Governor  nomination  in  view  ;  while  Waukesha  had  two 
strong  and  worthy  candidates  in  the  field — Rufus  Parks,  for  Treasurer,  and 
Hon.  E.  Enos,  Jr.,  for  State  Superintendant ;  and  so  undesirable  was  he  by  the 
Waukesha  county  delegation  in  the  Republican  State  Convention,  that  when  he 
Was  nominated  for  Governor,  he  only  received  two  out  of  the  ten  votes  of  that 
county.  Just  before  the  meeting  of  the  Convention,  he  played  another  adroit 
trick,  in  writing  a  letter  which  appeared  in  the  Milwaukee  papers,  declaring 
that  he  was  not  a  candidate  for  Governor,  nor  for  any  other  office.  Yet  imme¬ 
diately  thereafter,  we  find  him  at  the  gathering  of  the  Convention  at  Madison. 
It  hardly  need  be  added,  that  since,  as  before,  his  nomination,  he  makes  his 
home  in  Waukesha — his  residence  in  Milwaukee  having  been  sufficiently  pro¬ 
longed  to  answer  his  political  ends. 

Such  is  the  nominee  of  the  Republican  party  for  the  high  and  important  office 


v 


5 


of  Governor  of  Wisconsin.  First  a  whig — then  a  Tyler  Democrat — a  Free  Soiler 
twice — thrice  a  Democrat,  and  now  a  Republican — all  things  by  turns,  and 
nothing  long— always  unreliable,  a  trickster,  and  a  renegade.  Is  such  a  man 
fit  for  the  distinguished  position  to  which  he  aspires  ?  Freemen  of  Wisconsinl 
the  decision  lies  with  you  !  Consult  your  consciences — consult  the  high  duties 
and  obligatinns  you  owe  your  State — then  go  to  the  ballot  box,  and  fearlessly 
perform  that  duty  as  your  own  consciences  shall  dictate  ! 


A  REPUBLICAN  INVESTIGATION. 


Report  of  Messers.  Davis ,  Tenney  and  Hastings —  The  State 
Treasurer  and  Secretary  of  State  all  right. 

We  copy  from  the  report  of  the  Investigating  Committee  of  last  winter  the 
result  of  their  examinations  in  the  State  Treasury  and  Secretary  of  State’s  office. 
The  committee  consisted  of  M.  M.  Davis,  Republican  Senator  from  Columbia 
county,  H.  A.  Tenney,  present  Chairman  of  the  Republican  State  Committee, 
and  S.  D.  Hastings,  present  Republican  candidate  for  State  Treasurer.  The 
report  is  conclusive  against  the  attacks  made  in  Republican  papers  upon  Mr. 
Habich,  Assistant  Treasurer,  who  has  had  almost  exclusive  charge  of  tne  busi¬ 
ness  of  the  Treasury  for  the  past  two  years,  Mr.  Kuehn  having  been  much  of 
the  time  absent  in  attendance  upon  the  land  sales,  and  at  home.  We  commend 
it  to  the  people  of  the  State  : 

“  Report  of  Joint  Committee  for  Investigation ,  as  provided 
hy  Chapter  115  of  the  General  Acts  of  1856,  and  of  the 
several  Aets  amendatory  thereto. 

“  The  committee  have  made  as  full  and  thorough  an  investigation  of  the  mat¬ 
ters  committed  to  them,  as  it  was  possible  for  them  to  do,  in  the  circumstance 
in  which  they  have  been  placed, 

“  The  committee  commenced  their  investigation  in  the  office  of  the 

STATE  TREASURER. 

"  It  was  their  aim  to  carry  out  fully  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter  of  the  law 
under  which  they  acted,  and  accordingly  they  pursued  their  investigations  into 
the  most  minute  details  of  the  business  of  the  office,  and  it  is  with  great  satis¬ 
faction  that  they  are  enabled  to  say,  that  the  funds  of  the  State  have  been  care¬ 
fully  guarded  by  the  prompt  and  faithful  officer  who  now  has  the  charge  of  the 
treasury  of  the  State, 

“  The  books  of  the  office  are  kept  with  a  due  regard  to  system  and  neatness, 
and  the  contrast  between  the  management  of  this  department  under  the  present 
Treasurer  and  that  of  his  predecessor  is  marked  and  gratifying. 

“  The  quarterly  examinations  of  the  books  and  accounts  of  the  Treasurer,  re¬ 
quired  by  the  statute  to  be  made  by  the  Secretary  of  State,  your  committee  are 
satisfied  have  been  promptly  and  faithfully  made. 

“  While  in  the  Treasurer’s  office,  the  committee  examined  the  bank  securities 
deposited  there  by  the  Bank  Comptroller,  in  accordance  with  the  requirements 
of  the  banking  law,  and  found  them  all  correct, 

SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

“  Everything  in  this  department  furnished  evidence  of  the  efficiency  and 
faithfulness  of  the  officer  who  is  at  its  head.  The  books  of  the  office  are  kept 
in  a  neat  and  systematic  manner,  and  the  more  thorough  the  examinations 
made,  served  but  to  furnish  the  more  abundant  evidences  of  the  correctness  with 
which  they  have  been  kept. 

SCHOOL  AND  SWAMP  LAND  DEPARTMENT. 

“  The  business  connected  with  this  department  has  become  very  extensive  and 
eomplicated,  and  while  the  committee  are  compelled  to  call  attention  to  a  few 


6 


matters  which  do  not  appear  to  be  strictly  correct,  they  deem  it  due  those  who 
have  the  charge  of  the  important  interests  concentrated  here,  to  say  that  every  ¬ 
thing  connected  with  the  department  gives  evidence  of  industry  and  faithful¬ 
ness  on  the  part  of  those  therein  employed.” 


COST  AND  RASCADITY  OF 

WISCONSIN  REPUBLICANISM. 


HOW  BASHFORD  GOT  RICH - THE  LAND  GRANTS. 

The  Mineral  Point  Tribune,  a  Bashford  and  Kansas  shrieking  paper,  says 
Bashford  was  poor  when  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  Governor.  That's  so — he 
was  so  poor,  that  he  had  to  pass  around  the  hat  among  his  friends,  and  bleed  them 
to  pay  the  expense  of  contesting  his  claim  to  the  Governorship.  The  Wisconwi , 
another  Fremont  paper,  says  Bashford  is  now  generally  understood  to  be  rich; 
and  wonders  how  he  could  get  rich  on  a  salary  of  $1,250— and  then  adds,  by 
way  of  explanation,  that  “  it  is  one  of  the  mysteries  of  our  State  politics.”  Yes, 
indeed — “one  of  the  mysteries”  under  Republican  rule.  To  those  who  want  to 
understand  the  matter,  the  mystery  is  easily  explained;  but  there  are  none  so 
blind  as  those  who  wont  see. 

Let  us  give  some  facts — and  facts  are  stubborn  things.  At  the  meeting  of  the 
extra  session  of  the  Legislature  last  fall  for  the  disposition  of  the  Land  Grant, 
Bashford  urged  that  it  shouldn’t  all  be  given  to  one  company — he  knew  why 
he  wished  it  divided  up  and  parcelled  out,  so  he  could  make  more  drives  and 
secure  better  bargains  for  lining  his  own  pockets,  as  the  sequel  proves.  He  re¬ 
solutely  refused  to  approve  the  bill  as  passed  for  the  disposition  of  the  North 
Eastern  Grant,  unless  a  supplement  were  added,  giving  him  the  appointment  of 
two  of  the  Directors.  The  Chicago,  St.  Paul  and  Fond  du  Lac  Railroad  Com¬ 
pany  used  every  exertion,  and  every  appliance,  to  get  the  Legislature  to  give 
them  the  Grant ;  but  the  Legislature  persistently  refused  all  overtures,  and  repel¬ 
led  all  such  influences — adhering  steadily  to  the  policy  of  securing  the  benefits 
of  the  Grant  to  the  citizens  and  enterprises  of  our  State,  and  building  up  our 
own  commercial  metropolis,  Milwaukee,  rather  than  aiding  and  fostering  Chi¬ 
cago.  Bashford  was  immovable — except  as  he  was  moved  by  money  influence; 
and  so  at  length  the  supplement  was  passed — and  then  he  promptly  signed  both 
the  bill  and  the  supplement. 

Why  all  this  stubbornness,  unless  he  was  to  make  “a  good  thing”  out  of  it? 
And  taking  this  view  of  it,  we  can  readily  see  the  all-powerful  reason  that 
prompted  him  to  use  so  arbitrarily  the  power  he  held  in  his  own  hands.  He 
promptly  appointed  his  brother,  Levi  Bashford,  as  one  of  the  Directors,  and 
John  Potter,  of  Fond  du  Lac,  a  special  friend  of  his,  the  other — they  were  to 
do  the  dirty  work  prepared  for  them,  aided  by  four  subsidized  Directors,  and 
yet  another  four  residing  in  the  Rock  River  Yallev,  who  were  naturally  favor¬ 
able  to  the  change,  in  transferring  the  whole  control  of  the  Grant  to  Chicago. 
The  traitorous  deed  was  accomplished,  by  a  vote  of  ten  to  six — Levi  Bashford 
and  John  Potter  being  with  the  majority;  had  they  cast  a  different  vote,  and 
firmly  maintained  the  interests  and  integrity  of  Wisconsin,  there  would  have 
been  a  tie  vote,  eight  to  eight,  and  the  whole  stupendous  and  fraudulent  trans¬ 
action  nipped  in  the  bud. 

Thus  were  the  aims  and  intentions  of  the  Legislature  utterly  defied  and 
thwarted — a  magnificent  Grant  of  the  public  domain,  by  trickery  and  fraud, 
conveyed  to  citizens  of  other  States — a  heavy  blow  aimed  at  the  prosperity  of 
our  own  commercial  emporium,  Milwaukee — the  wishes,  hopes,  and  dearest  in¬ 
terests  of  our  people  all  frustrated,  and  their  feelings  grossly  outraged.  All  this 
was  brought  about  by  the  open  bribery  and  heartless  treachery  of  Coles  Bash¬ 
ford,  the  Republican  Governor  of  Wisconsin,  whose  administration  has  been 
fully  endorsed  by  the  late  Republican  State  Convention.  His  over-powering 
venality,  like  Benedict  Arnold’s,  prompted  him  to  sell  himself  and  his  State 
for  “  filthy  lucre  ;”  the  bribe  was  a  large  one — the  temptation  too  strong,  and  he 
could  not  resist  it.  He  loved  and  embraced  the  treason,  like  Arnold,  for  the 


i 


gold  it  yielded  him  in  return.  This  is  no  idle  tale — no  newly  trumped  up  mat¬ 
ter  for  the  campaign.  The  details  of  this  treacherous  transfer,  whicn  took  place 
on  the  24th  and  25th  of  October,  and  the  6th  and  7th  of  November  1856,  may 
be  seen  in  a  lengthy  statement  drawn  up  and  signed  by  Hermann  Hairtbl, 
Julius  White,  and  Charles  Kuehn,  three  of  the  Directors  who  stood  op  man¬ 
fully  for  Wisconsin  and  Milwaukee  interests,  and  published  in  the  Milwaukee 
Sentinel  of  Nov.  14th  1856.  Julius  White  is  a  leading  Republican  of  Madison, 
and  is  now  a  member  of  the  Republican  State  Central  Committee,  Five  of  the 
Directors,  who  had  steadily  opposed  this  gigantic  swindle,  resigned  their  places 
in  disgust  and  retired  from  the  Board — their  names  ought  ever  to  be  held  dear 
by  the  people:  they  were  Messrs.  HERMAN  H^ERTEL,  JULIUS  WHITE, 
CHARLES  KUEHN,  WILLIAM  SCOTT,  and  JAMES  DUANE  DOTY. 

Immediately  after  the  fact  of  this  rascally  transfer  was  made  known,  Wisconsin 
literally  sold,  and  that  by  its  own  Governor — it  was  published  in  the  public  pre&s 
under  the  very  nose  of  the  Governor,  what  was  publicly  rumored,  that  Gov.  Bash- 
ford,  either  directly  or  through  his  brotlier,LEvi  B ashford, received  Fiftt  Thou¬ 
sand  Dollars  in  stock  from  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul  <fe  Fond  du  Lac  Railroad  Com¬ 
pany,  plainly  enough  as  the  price  of  prostituting  his  high  position  as  Governor, 
and  playing  traitor  to  the  dearest  interests  of  the  people  of  Wisconsin.  HE 
NEVER  PUBLICLY  DENIED  IT.  It  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  William 
B.  Ogden,  the  President  of  the  Chicago  Company,  and  Judge  Wheeler,  spent 
a  portion  of  the  Sabbath  previous  to  the  transfer,  with  Coles  Bashford,  at  Al- 
goma;  and  the  next  day,  Monday,  Mr.  Ogden  was  busy  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Directors,  appeared  to  manage  matters  as  though  they  were  all  cut  and  dried, 
and  the  guilty  transfer  was  speedily  effected,  by  subsidizing  some  of  the  Direc¬ 
tors,  and  inducing  others  to  resign,  and  filling  their  places  with  more  pliant 
men.  Hon.  James  Duane  Doty,  one  of  the  original  Directors,  as  we  have  seen, 
in  the  Eastern  Laud  Grant  Company,  who  from  first  to  last,  steadily  and  man¬ 
fully  opposed  this  stupendous  fraud,  WAS  PRESENT,  AND  AN  EYE¬ 
WITNESS,  WHEN  THE  FIFTY  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  WERE  PAID 
OVER  TO  COLES  BASHFORD.  Gov.  Doty  has  told  it  as  no  secret,  and  ex¬ 
pressed  his  wonder  that  Bashford,  knowing  his  (Doty’s)  opposition  to  the  en¬ 
tire  swindle,  should  have  received  his  pay  in  his  presence.  A  certificate  for  the 
FIFTY  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  of  Stock  of  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  and  Fond 
du  Lac  Company,  was  made  out  for  Coles  Bashford,  and  the  stub  of  the  certi¬ 
ficate  in  the  stock-book  shows  that  it  has  been  delivered.  These  are  facts  which 
ought  to  sink  any  man,  and  the  party  who  endorses  and  sustains  him,  to  eternal 
infamy.  The  whole  train  of  facts,  dates,  and  transactions  are  such,  that  no  rea¬ 
sonable  man  can  doubt  them. 

Nor  is  Bashford’s  connection  with  the  North-Western  Grant  to  the  Milwau¬ 
kee  and  La  Crosse  Railroad  Company,  less  palpably  criminal.  He  has  tried  to 
cover  up  his  tracks  in  the  matter,  but  his  trail  is  easily  traced.  In  the  first 
place,  let  us  state,  that  in  a  lengthy  communication  published  in  the  Milwaukee 
Sentinel,  of  the  I8th  of  June  1857,  over  the  signature  of  Josiah  A.  Noonan,  the 
amount  of  the  “  CORRUPT  ION  BONDS  ”  of  the  La  Crosse  Company,  issued 
for  the  purposes  of  bribery  and  corruption,  is  given,  as  prepared  by  one  of  the 
Directors  of  the  Company,  at  ONE  MILLION  OF  DOLLARS!  Mr.  Noon¬ 
an,  after  giving  other  figures  going  to  show  the  heavy  losses  incurred  by  the 
Company,  consequent  upon  securing  the  Grant,  then  adds  :  “The  next  person 
that  came  into  my  office  after  these  figures  were  handed  me  was  Byron  Kil- 
bourn.  I  called  his  attention  to  them,  and  told  him  they  came  from  one  of  his 
Directors.  He  looked  at  thpra,  suddenly  changed  color,  and  remarked  the  loss 
was  not  as  bad  as  that,  but  unquestionably  the  Land  Grant  was  a  great  curse  to 
the  State,  and  particularly  to  the  La  Crosse  Company.”  That  bribery  and  cor¬ 
ruption  were  resorted  to,  and  on  a  stupendous  scale,  to  secure  the  Grant  to  the 
La  Crosse  Company,  cannot  be  doubted  or  denied  by  any  sane  man  who  knows 
anything  of  Wisconsin  legislation  during  the  fall  session  of  1856.  A  leading 
Bashford  and  Randall  paper  at  Milwaukee  received  $10,000  of  these  corrup¬ 
tion  bonds  ;  and  another  Randall  paper, ever  making  loud  professions  of  purity 
and  expressing  holy  horror  against  all  corruption  and  rascality,  received  ^.OCH' 
of  these  very  bonds. 

It  will  be  remembered,  that  Bashford  vetoed  the  first  bill  that  passed,  cob* 


8 


yeying  the  North-Western  Grant  to  the  La  Crosse  Company.  Then,  it  is  well 
understood,  that  a  distinguished  functionary  stepped  in  as  the  high  contracting 
party  between  the  Governor  and  the  La  Crosse  Company — a  new  bill  was  forth¬ 
with  gotten  up — passed — and  speedily  approved  !  And  Bashford  got  his  pat 
— FIFTY  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  of  La  Crosse  and  Milwaukee  R.  R.  bonds, 
and  TEN  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  IN  CASH  !  This  was  endeavored  to  be 
kept  secret,  but  some  of  the  officers  of  the  Company  proved  leaky,  and  divulged 
the  genera]  facts  in  the  case.  Some  of  the  newspapers  in  the  Governor’s  inter¬ 
est,  and  mouth-pieces  of  the  Republican  party,  and  the  Governor’s  Private  Sec¬ 
retary,  have  endeavored,  in  an  evasive  and  shuffling  manner,  to  deny  the 
fact  of  the  Governer  having  been  bribed  ;  but  when  their  evasions  were  pointed 
out,  they  have  remained  silent.  They  made  it  convenient  to  deny  what  they 
didn’t  actually  know,  and  only  tell  what  they  did  happen  to  know  that  was  ir¬ 
relevant  to  the  matter.  It  cannot  be  denied,  that  Gov,  Bashford  has  been  pos¬ 
sessed  of  a  large  amount  of  La  Crosse  Railroad  Bonds — and,  it  will  be  remem¬ 
bered,  that  by  the  admission  of  his  friends,  he  was  poor  when  he  came  into  office, 
and  had  been  in  office  only  a  little  over  six  months  on  the  meagre  salary  of  $1,250 
per  annum — and  so  he  could  not  be  supposed  to  have  possessed  means  to  pur¬ 
chase  a  large  amount  of  railroad  bonds.  If  he  came  honestly  by  them,  why 
has  not  he,  his  Secretary,  his  brother,  or  others  in  his  confidence,  come  forward 
and  fully  explained  how,  when,  and  where  he  got  them  ?  And  as  $1,000,000 
of  these  “  CORRUPTION  BONDS  ”  were  confessedly  issued  and  distributed, 
does  not  the  very  course  of  the  Governor  in  vetoing  the  first  bill,  and  so  prompt¬ 
ly  approving  the  second,  go  to  show  that  he  got.his  share  ?  The  great  Walpole 
used  to  say,  “  every  man  has  got  his  price  the  La  Crosse  Company  soon 
found  out  what  value  the  Governor  set  upon  himself,  bought  him  up,  and  paid 
for  him. 

Thus  we  see,  that  by  preventing  the  Land  Grant  from  going  to  a  single  com¬ 
pany,  Bashford  acted  shrewdly  ;  for  as  the  result  proved,  he  managed  to  get 
double  pay — FIFTY  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  from  the  Chicago  Company, 
and  SIXTY  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  from  the  La  Crosse  Company  ;  making 
altogether  ONE  HUNDRED  AND  TEN  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  !  He 
could  then  no  longer  do,  what  he  had  solemnly  sworn  to  do — to  support  the 
Constitution,  and  “take  care  that  the  laws  be  faithfully  executed,”  for  he  had 
outraged  alike  LAW,  JUSTICE  and  MORALITY,  and  had  virtually  become 
the  slave  of  the  two  Railroad  companies,  to  do  their  bidding,  so  far  as  their  in¬ 
terests  were  concerned  in  the  magnificent  Land  Grants.  A  noble  State  betrayed 
— public  justice  outraged  “in  the  house  of  its  friends  ” — and  the  dearest  rights 
and  interests  of  a  confiding  people  bartered  for  GOLD,  and  their  noble  national 
inheritance  squandered  for  a  mess  of  pottage  ! 

Over  such  a  monstrous  crime,  and  unparalleled  public  outrage,  our  whole  peo¬ 
ple  should  mourn  and  put  on  sack-cloth — for  “  when  the  wicked  bear  rule, 
the  people  mourn,”  Yet  strange  to  say,  the  Republican  party  of  Wisconsin, 
as  represented  in  its  recent  State  Convention,  passed,  on  the  2d  day  of  Septem¬ 
ber  1857,  a  resolution — “  That  the  warmest  thanks  of  the  Republican  Party 
of  Wisconsin  are  due  to  COLES  BASHFORD,”  and  “that  we  HONOR  him 
for  his  administration  of  the  State  Government.”  The  Republican  party, 
therefore,  have  fully  endorsed  all  his  acts,  and  we  have  a  perfect  right  to  hold 
the  party  accountable  for  them.  And  now,  fellow -citizens  of  Wisconsin,  can 
you  confide  in  a  party  that  gives  us  such  a  Governor,  and  who  endorse,  defend, 
and  white-wash  his  administration  ?  And  you,  fellow-citizens,  who  have  mort¬ 
gaged  your  farms  and  homesteads  to  aid  these  roads — what  must  be  your  feel¬ 
ings  in  view  of  all  this  monstrous  rascality  that  has  beggared  the  companies, 
and  forced  their  stock  down  to  a  mere  song  ?  And  should  not  Bashford  and 
the  Republican  party  be  held  accountable  for  these  criminally  disastrous  results  ? 

BASHFORD  ON  THE  VETO  POWER. 

It  is  well  known,  that  the  opposition  to  the  Democratic  party  have  always  re¬ 
garded  the  veto  power  as  almost  sacred  ;  that  it  should  never  be  resorted  to, 
except  in  extreme  cases  of  over-hasty  legislation,  or  palpable  violations  of  the 
Constitution  ;  and  contending,  moreover,  that  in  matters  of  ordinary  legislation, 
it  would  be  arbitrary  for  the  Governor  to  thwart  the  wishes  of  the  majority  by 


9 


resorting  to  the  veto.  But  in  the  case  of  Gov.  Bashford  and  the  Land  Grants, 
we  find  him  prostituting  his  high  position — resorting  to  the  veto,  and  still  fur¬ 
ther  threatening  its  use,  plainly  to  extort  a  bribe  from  the  R.  R.  companies  that 
sought  the  Grants  with  so  much  avidity.  When  Bashford  had  the  promise  of 
his  hush  money,  he  was  then  quiet  as  a  lamb  and  threw  no  more  oostacles  in 
the  way  of  the  passage  of  the  Land  Grant  bills  To  what  venal  uses  was  the 
sacred  veto  power  prostituted,  by  the  head  and  front  of  the  Republican  party 
of  Wisconsin,  who  in  their  recent  State  Convention,  so  warmly  endorsed  his 
administration  ! 

i 

bashford’s  $9,000  appropriation. 

When  Bashford  contested  the  Governorship  before  the  Supreme  Court,  it  is 
well  known  that  a  fund,  said  to  have  been  about  $5,000,  was  raised  to  defray 
the  expenses.  The  last  Legislature  being  strongly  Republican  in  both  branches, 
voted  him  $9,000  to  remunerate  him  for  expenses,  which  had,  in  fact,  been  paid 
by  the  contributions  of  friends.  The  Governor  was,  of  course,  gratified  with  a 
chance  to  make  so  large  a  steal — approved  the  bill,  and  got  his  money.  He 
furnished  the  Legislature  a  bill  of  items,  in  part,  for  the  payment  of  which  the 
appropriation  was  asked — $2,000  each  to  two  of  his  counsel,  and  $1,000  each  to 
two  others;  and  counsel’s  expenses,  $1,125 — making  $7,125 ;  the  rest  of  the 
$9,000  was  said,  in  a  general  way,  to  have  been  paid  in  sending  out  runners  to 
hunt  up  evidence  of  frauds,  paying  witnesses,  <fec.  Whether  the  counsel  were 
ever  paid  any  such  enormous  fees,  is  extremely  doubtful ;  and  from  a  single 
fact  that  has  leaked  out,  it  is  hardly  probable  that  Bashford  ever  paid  out  more 
than  the  volunteer  fund  raised  for  expenses — and  that  fact  is  this,  that  as  soon 
as  it  was  ascertained  that  an  appropriation  was  made  to  Bashford,  Phil.  Bovek, 
of  Waukesha,  came  up,  and  demanded  of  His  Excellency  his  pay  for  having 
gone  to  Waupaca  to  hunt  up  election  frauds,  but  was  flatly  refused,  and  thus 
Bovee  afterwards  reported  in  the  streets  of  Waukesha. 

BOOTH  ATTEMPTS  A  STEAL. 

Bashford  being  an  especial  favorite  of  his  party,  could  get  his  individual 
wishes  gratified.  But  S.  M.  Booth,  pre-eminently  the  great  Republican  shrieker 
of  Wisconsin,  who  had  run  a  tilt  against  the  General  Government,  thought  from 
Bashford’s  illustrious  example,  that  he  must  come  in,  and  ask  the  State  to  in¬ 
demnify  him  for  expenses  incurred  in  his  foray  against  the  Union.  A  bill 
passed  the  Assembly  granting  him  $2,000  ;  but  some  of  his  Republican  brethren 
in  the  Senate  thought  the  matter  of  making  such  appropriations  from  the  pub¬ 
lic  treasury  exhibited  a  little  too  much  party  favoritism,  and  must  shut  down  ; 
and  so  a  portion  of  his  own  friends  snubbed  him  off,  while  another  portion 
contended  clamorously  that  he  should  have  it.  Booth  got  a  precious  little  sym¬ 
pathy — but  nothing  more — not  a  dime. 

THE  BIG  ATTEMPTED  KANSAS  STEAL. 

A  still  larger  steal  was  attempted,  and  came  very  near  being  successful.  It 
was  to  secure  an  appropriation  of  TWENTY  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  out  of 
the  hard  earnings  of  the  people,  to  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Governor, 
ostensibly  for  the  relief  oi  Kansas,  but  really  to  squander  upon  such  sliriekers 
and  howlers  as  Edward  Daniels,  to  keep  up  the  bugaboo  farce  of  Kansas  ex¬ 
citement,  and  thus  manufacture  capital  for  the  Republican  party.  The  bill 
passed  the  Assembly  by  a  strictly  Republican  vote  ;  but  some  of  the  older  heads 
of  the  party  in  the  Senate,  dared  not  go  before  the  people  upon  such  a  big  steal 
—  so  they  throttled  and  killed  it. 

BRIBERY  INVESTIGATION  CHOKED  OFF. 

At  the  last  session  of  the  Legislature,  petitions  came  in  from  the  people,  pray¬ 
ing  for  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  stupendous  briberies  connected  with  the 
Land  Granta  A  MILLION  OF  DOLLARS  had  been  used  for  corruption  pur¬ 
poses  by  the  La  Crosse  Company ;  how  much  by  the  Chicago  Company  has 
never  fully  transpired — except  the  $50,000  paid  Bashford,  and  $25,000  each  to 
some  of  the  Directors.  The  Republican  party  had  come  into  power,  with  the 
2 


10 


most  profuse  professions  of  love  of  freedom,  and  hatred  of  public  rascality — 
fond  of  shrieking — fond  of  office — fond  of  humbugging  the  people,  and  loud  in 
their  protestations  of  purity,  honesty  and  clean  hands.  They  had  decisive  ma¬ 
jorities  in  both  branches  of  the  Legislature,  and  could  carry  any  measure  they 
pleased  ;  and  they  had  a  “  pure  ”  Governor  who  could  approve  such  measure — if 
he  would  !  Well,  what  did  they  do  ?  Did  they  fulfill  the  wishes  of  the  people, 
and  go  to  work  and  ferret  out  this  enormous  rascality  ?  When  the  Janssen  de¬ 
falcation,  of  some  $34,000  transpired,  they  were  then  very  eager  to  investigate — 
and  it  was  right  and  proper  ;  they  thought  they  could  make  political  capital  out 
of  it;  but  now  nearly  FIFTY  TIMES  AS  MUCH  had  been  used  in  buying 
up  their  Governor,  subsidizing  their  presses,  and  purchasing  their  leaders. 
They  shrunk  from  an  investigation — slunk  back  like  cowards — defeated  the 
the  ends  of  public  justice — disappointed  the  just  expectations  of  an  indignant 
people — winked  at,  and  covered  up,  the  most  stupendous  frauds — and  suffered 
bribery  and  corruption  to  stalk  abroad  in  the  Executive  Chamber,  and  in  the 
Halls  of  Legislation  !  The  Republican  party,  who  had  the  power,  refused  to  in¬ 
vestigate  the  Land  Grant  briberies,  and  thus  suffered  the  guilty  to  go  free. 
Citizens  of  Wisconsin — can  such  a  party  deserve  your  confidence  ? 

REPUBLICAN  FINANCIERING - DOUBLE  PAY. 

It  was  reported  by  a  select  committee  of  the  Assembly,  at  the  extra  session  of 
1856,  that  Charles  Burchard,  a  leading  Republican  member  of  that  body,  and 
formerly  President  of  a  Republican  State  Convention,  had  drawn  double  pay — 
first,  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  day  as  a  member  of  the  Investigating  Com¬ 
mittee  the  previous  spring  and  summer,  during  the  recess  ;  and  secondly,  two 
dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  day,  for  fifty-one  days  services  after  the  adjournment 
of  the  Legislature  the  previous  spring,  as  an  appraiser  of  that  portion  of  the 
school  lands  known  as  selections  of  the  saline  lands,  by  appointment  of  Gov. 
Bashford.  Burchard  got  double  pay — drew  and  pocketed  the  money,  and  for 
two  kinds  of  services,  one  in  one  part  of  the  State,  and  another  in  a  far  distant 
region,  both  covering  the  same  period,  when  it  was  morally  impossible  for  him 
to  have  performed  but  one  of  the  services  ! 

J,  G.  Knapp  presented  one  bill,  in  1856,  for  traveling  and  subpoenaing  wit¬ 


nesses,  as  follows : 

State  of  Wisconsin, 

To  J,  G.  Knapp,  Dr. 

1856.  To  traveling,  hunting  and  subpcening  witnesses  for  Judiciary 
Committee  of  the  Senate,  upon  the  annexed  subpoena,  four 

hundred  and  eight  miles,  at  6  cents .  $28  86 

To  serving  subpoenas  on  eight  witnesses,  at  50  cents .  4  00 


Audited  October  4th,  1856.  $32  86 

After  receiving  pay  for  his  traveling,  it  occurred  to  him,  that  he  might  be 
allowed  the  per  diem  of  a  Congressman,  and  a  Republican  Legislature  and  a 
Republican  Governor  gave  him  that  as  follows  : 

State  of  Wisconsin,  To  J.  G.  Knapp,  Dr. 

April  1856.  To  sixteen  days  service  in  procuring  witnesses,  in  the 
matter  of  the  frauds  in  the  election  returns,  in  the  vote 
for  Governor,  in  the  year  1656,  to  be  examined  before 
the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  in  the  Senate,  includ¬ 
ing  all  traveling  and  other  expenses,  at  $8,00  per  day  $128  00 
Appropriated  by  bill,  approved  March,  1857. 

The  words  RETRENCHMENT  and  REFORM,  it  would  seem,  are  only  used, 
by  the  Republicans  when  out  of  office,  and  conveniently  forgotten  when  once  in 
power. 

bashford’s  swamp  land  management. 


Gov.  Bashford  sent  to  Washington,  and  obtained  lists  of  the  Swamp  Lands 
from  the  General  Land  Office,  and  declined  placing  such  lists,  as  the  law  directs, 
with  the  Secretary  of  State,  so  as  to  enable  pre-emptors  to  prove  up  their  claims; 
the  Governor  retained  the  lists,  evidently  to  prevent  pre-emptors  from  obtaining 


11 


their  just  and  lawful  rights,  and  to  enable  his  brother  Levi  Bashford.  and  other 
favorites,  to  make  their  selections,  and  be  prepared  to  attend  the  sales,  and  se¬ 
cure  good  bargains.  But  Col.  Jokes,  the  ever  watchful  Secretary  of  State,  de¬ 
feated.  the  evident  plot  against  the  honest  pre-emptors,  by  sending  to  MenasLi 
Land  Office,  and  obtaining  a  list  of  the  swamp  lands — and  by  it,  enabling  the 
pre-emptors  to  prove  up  their  claims. 

HOW  BASHFORD  GOT  SOME  CITY  LOTS. 

There  is  oftentimes  a  wheel  within  a  wheel — so  it  proved  in  Bashford 's  case 
in  the  Land  Grants.  He,  Tom  Reynolds,  and  Charles  Burohard,  got  a  tract  of 
some  forty  acres  in  or  adjoining  Prescott,  and  several  city  lots,  for  pledging 
their  influence  and  good  offices  in  securing  the  terminus  of  the  La  Crosse  road 
at  that  point.  The  Western  terminus  was  established  there;  and  Reynolds  has 
openly  boasted  of  the  lots  he,  his  friend  the  Governor,  and  Charles  Bcrohajrd. 
obtained  for  their  influence  in  securing  that  point  as  the  terminus  ! 

BASHFORD  APPOINTS  A  NEGRO  TO  OFFICE. 

If  undoubted  proof  were  wanting,  of  not  merely  the  professions  but  the 
practice  of  the  Republicans,  upon  the  question  of  negro  equality,  it  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  Gov.  Bashford,  on  the  9th  of  July  1857,  appointed  Wm 
H.  Noland  a  negro  of  Madison  a  Notary  Public  ;  but  Col.  Jones,  the  Secre¬ 
tary  of  State,  refused  to  file  the  bond  in  his  office,  and  made  the  following  en¬ 
dorsement  on  it  :  “  This  appointment  is  in  violation  of  the  Constitution,  anti 

therefore  void,"  It  was  void  because  the  Constitution  makes  no  provision  for 
negroes  holding  State  offices ;  and  the  Secretary  of  State  could  not  by  his  oath, 
certify  that  a  negro  was  “  duly  appointed  and  qualified,  and  empowered  by  the 
Laws  of  this  State  to  administer  oaths,  acknowledge  deeds,  and  other  written 
instruments.”  The  Revised  Statutes,  p.  90,  expressly  declare,  that  “  The  Gov¬ 
ernor  shall  appoint  in  each  organized  county  of  the  State,  one  or  more  Notaries 
Public  who  shall  be  considered  State  officers."  Had  there  been  a  Republican  Sec¬ 
retary  of  State,  this  first  attempt  in  the  appointment  of  negroes  to  office  in 
Wisconsin  would  have  been  signally  successful,  and  would  have  proved  the  en¬ 
tering  wedge  for  similar  appointments  all  over  the  State — thus  making  negroes 
“  State  Officers,”  and  placing  them  in  official  positions  over  hundreds  of  thou¬ 
sands  of  our  white  fellow  citizens.  Wisconsin  Republicanism  aimed  to  do  th’j 
deed  ! 

COST  OF  BASHFORD’S  ADMINISTRATION. 


1848-’49.  Gov.  Dewey’s  first  term .  $94,071  3 1 

1850.  do  second  term .  71,675  38 

1851.  do  do .  112.420  80 

1852.  Gov.  Farwell’s  Administration .  123.474  06 

1853.  do  do .  163,910  58 

1854.  Gov.  Barstow’s  Administration, .  264,692  07 

1855.  do  do .  273,067  72 

1856.  Gov.  Bashford’s  Administration .  349,350  45 

1857.  do  do .  452,760  00 


These  figures  are  all  taken  from  the  Reports  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  except 
the  present  year,  and  these  arc  obtained  at  the  offices  of  the  Secretary  of  State 
and  Treasurer,  and  including  liabilities  on  1st  January  1857,  certificates  have 
been  issued  during  the  nine  months  of  this  year  to  the  amount  of  $437,760;  and 
the  estimates  for  the  remaining  three  months  of  the  year  are  placed  low  at 
$15,000,  when  it  is  remembered  that  a  large  amount  of  printing  in  the  German, 
Norwegian,  and  Holland  languages  was  ordered  by  the  last  Legislature,  which 
is  yet  to  be  paid  for.  Let  us  mark  the  contrast  of  the  cost  of  Barstow’s  and 
Bashford’s  Administrations  : 

Barstow’s  term  .  $537,759  79 

Bashford’s  term .  $802,110  45 

This  shows  an  excess  of  cost  of  Bashfordism  and  Republicanism,  in  the  last 
two  years,  over  Democratic  rule,  of  $264,350  66  !  !  !  The  exceea  is  about  one 


12 


half  of  the  whole  amount  of  Barstow’s  Administration  !  !  There  is  now  nearly 
$100,000  of  certified  outstanding  indebtedness  against  the  State,  beside  the 
State  Loan,  as  the  result  of  extravagant  and  wasteful  Republican  legislation — 
and  no  means  provided  for  its  payment. 


NEGRO  SUFFRAGE. 


The  Case  Fairly  Stated. 

This  question  of  negro  suffrage  must  be  met  at  the  polls — our  Republican 
Senate,  Republican  Assembly,  and  Republican  Executive,  the  three  law¬ 
making  departments  of  the  State  Government,  having  forced  the  matter  upon 
us.  It  is  a  purely  Republican  measure — one  brought  forward  by  Republican 
leaders,  and  passed  by  a  Republican  Legislature,  and  approved  by  a  Republi¬ 
can  Governor. 

At  the  Democratic  State  Convention,  one  of  the  resolutions  composing  the 
platform,  was  as  follows  : 

“  Resolved ,  That  we  are  unalterably  opposed  to  the  extension  of  the  right  of 
suffrage  to  the  negro  race,  and  will  never  consent  that  the  odious  doctrine  of 
negro  equality  shall  find  a  place  upon  the  statute  books  of  Wisconsin.” 

In  his  letter  of  acceptance,  Mr.  Cross  said,  “  The  resolutions  passed  by  the 
Convention  are  in  accordance  with  my  own  views.”  Here  is  no  evasion,  but 
Mr.  Cross  firmly  plants  himself  on  the  platform  of  his  party ;  and  so  do  all  his 
fellow-nominees  on  the  Democratic  ticket. 

The  Republican  Convention  met,  and  resolved,  “  That  we  are  utterly  hostile 
to  the  proscription  of  any  man  on  account  of  birth-place,  religion,  or  color.” — 
All  the  leading  papers  of  that  party  have  agreed,  that  this  was  intended  to  en¬ 
dorse  the  negro  suffrage  question.  Speaking  of  the  platform,  Booth  stoutly 
affirms,  in  the  Free  Democrat,  that  it  “  does  contain  the  free  suffrage  plank,  in 
claiming  equal  rights  for  all,  without  regard  to  color  ;”  and  again  :  “That  this 
must  be  construed  as  an  expression  of  sympathy  on  the  part  of  the  Convention 
with  the  proposed  extension  of  suffrage,  cannot  be  denied,  and  that  it  is,  to  that 
extent,  an  endorsement  of  the  measure,  is  equally  true,” 

Byrd  Parker,  “  a  bird  of  African  plumage,”  is  sent  forth  through  the  State, 
to  lecture  upon  the  free  suffrage  question,  and  make  converts ;  the  Sentinel, 
Free  Democrat,  Pond  du  Lac  Commonwealth,  and  other  negro  suffrage  sheets, 
urge  people  to  go  and  hear  him,  they  puff  his  speaking,  and  endorse  his  mission, 
Hot  a  leading  Republican  paper  in  the  State  has  uttered  a  solitary  word  against 
the  negro  suffrage  plank  in  the  Republican  platform.  That  plank  is  there — 
they  acknowledge  the  corn,  and  even  glory  in  it  Let  us  cite  some  refreshing 
passages  : 

“  Recoiled  the  prediction, — ; just  as  sure  as  this  measure  of  justice  is  denied  by 
Republicans,  just  so  sure  is  the  death  warrant  of  our  party  sealed — and  justly 
too.”' 

So  says  the  Berlin  Courani. 

“  A  party,”  says  the  Fond  du  Lac  Commonwealth,  “  that  dare  not  meet  the 
legitimate  deductions  from  its  own  avowed  principles,  will  soon  stink  in  the  nostrils 
of  honest  men,  and  become  the  sport  of  its  enemies.  *  *  *  We  hope  the 

party  is  not  so  hypocritical  as  to  spurn  this  doctrine”  Again,  the  same  paper 
declares,  that  “Ho  man  can  be  a  real  believer  in  our  system  of  government, 
and  consistently  oppose  the  doctrine  of  equal  suffrage  to  all and  alluding  to 
the  charge,  which  does  not  seem  to  be  true,  that  some  of  the  Republican  nomi¬ 
nees  are  opposed  to  free  suffrage,  adds,  “  If  such  shall  prove  to  he  the  fact,  we 
hesitate  not  to  say,  they  are  very  poor  Republicans ;  and  if  the  evidence  direct 
ever  appears,  fastening  the  charge  upon  them,  here  is  our  hand  and  our  vow,  to 
the  Palriot  and  all  mankind,  that  they  don’t  receive  our  vote.  How  bring  on 
your  evidence,  if  you  have  any,  that  we  have  nominated  a  set  of  men  that 
eschew  the  platform  of  the  party  that  supports  them.” 

This  is  plain  talk,  and  shows  conclusively  the  united  understanding  of  the 
Republicans  as  to  their  negro  suffrage  plank,  and  that  it  is  fully  endorsed  by 


13 


the  party  ;  and  furthermore,  if  a  single  one  of  their  candidates  should  be  found 
tinctured  with  opposition  to  the  darling  measure — “  the  legitimate  deduction 
of  their  avowed  principles  ” — he  is  threatened  with  the  party  anathema  and 
excommunication,  without  benefit  of  clergy.  Yet  further — “  To  deny  that 
measure  of  justice,  is  to  sign  their  death  warrant  as  a  party.” 

Some  of  the  Republican  papers,  the  State  Journal  among  them,  while  en¬ 
dorsing  the  platform  as  a  whole,  speak  rather  tenderly  and  gingerly  about  the 
particular  plank  opposed  to  “  color  ”  proscription — in  plain  language,  the  negro 
suffrage  question.  Even  the  Free  Democrat  plays  somewhat  shy;  sometimes 
venturing  bold  words  in  a  very  timid  way.  “  We  have  given,”  says  the  Free 
Democrat,  “  abundant  evidence,  thus  far,  of  devotion  to  the  measure,  and  expect 
to  give  more  before  the  contest  closes  and,  “We  could  hope  that  every  man 
who  professes  to  be  a  Republican,  would  see  it  in  the  line  of  his  duty  to  vote 
for  free  suffrage,  for  we  think  his  duty  is  very  clearly  in  that  direction.” 

'f'kere  cannot  be  a  question  as  to  the  position  of  the  two  parties.  The  Demo¬ 
cratic  party,  by  its  Convention,  its  platform,  the  endorsement  of  that  platform 
by  James  B.  Cross  and  the  united  Democratic  press  of  the  State,  have  taken 
bold  and  decided  ground  against  negro  suffrage  and  negro  equality.  The  Re¬ 
publican  party,  on  the  other  hand,  has,  by  its  Convention,  its  platform,  and 
party  press,  taken  unequivocal  ground  for  the  measure.  Its  papers  nor  its  can¬ 
didates  dare  repudiate  it.  It  is  a  measure  peculiarly  their  own  in  its  inception; 
its  journals  alone  defend  it,  and  press  its  support  upon  the  party  and  the  peo¬ 
ple;  and  its  sable  and  other  orators  urge  it  upon  the  stump,  and  at  meetings 
called  in  various  parts  of  the  State  for  that  purpose.  These  are  facts  that  cannot 
be  successfully  controverted.  The  appointment  of  the  negro  Noland  as  a  No¬ 
tary  Public  by  Gov.  Bashkord,  shows  what  the  Republican  leaders  would  do, 
if  they  only  had  the  opportunity. 

Are  the  people  of  Wisconsin  ready  to  adopt  and  endorse  any  such  nonsense 
as  the  political  and  social  equality  of  the  white  and  negro  races?  We  think 
not.  This  very  question,  pressed  upon  them  by  the  Republican  leaders,  has 
opened  the  eyes  of  hundreds  and  thousands  in  this  and  other  States,  to  the  ex¬ 
treme  and  fanatical  notions  of  the  par  excellence  Nigger  Party — endeavoring,  as 
this  party  does,  to  give  the  negro  the  pre-eminence  in  all  things,  forgetting  that 
we  owe  higher  and  holier  duties  to  the  White  Race,  to  whom  the  Almighty  has 
committed  the  great  work  of  extending  Free  Government,  Knowledge,  and 
Christianity  to  the  nations  of  the  world.  Our  Creator  clearly  never  intended 
these  two  widely  dis-similar  races  to  fraternize  ;  if  he  had  wanted  them  to  be 
one,  he  would  have  so  made  them — but  he  has  placed,  with  his  own  finger,  a 
mark  of  distinction,  in  color,  intellect,  physiognomy,  and  other  strongly  marked 
characteristics.  Whenever  these  lines  of  demarkation  are  endeavored  to  be 
obliterated  by  amalgamation,  the  white  race  lias  been  degenerated,  enfeebled, 
and  degraded,  as  a  natural  consequence.  We  want  no  negro  equality,  for  it  is  a 
physical  and  mental  impossibility;  we  want  no  political  equality,  for  it  would 
bring  with  it  negro  rulers,  negro  judges,  negro  jurors;  we  want  no  negro  social¬ 
ity,  for  it  would  degrade  and  brutify  our  race,  giving  negro  husbands,  and  negro 
progeny  to  our  fair  daughters  and  sisters.  We  religiously  believe  it  an  insult 
to  our  Creator  to  suppose  that  lie  ever  designed  such  disgusting  amalgamation. 
The  very  thought  would  be  unnatural,  offensive  and  revolting  to  our  natures. 

This  favorite  Republican  hobby  has  been  submitted  to  the  people  of  Iowa, 
and  they  almost  unitedly  repudiated  it  by  forty  thousand  majority  ;  the  negro- 
loving  Republicans  have  presented  the  question  to  the  people  of  New  York, 
Ohio,  and  Wisconsin,  Upon  a  matter  of  such  vital  interest  to  our  race,  a  free 
and  intelligent  people  shoidd,  and  mil,  speak  at  the  polls  with  emphatic  indig¬ 
nation. 


Mr.  Clay  on  Agitation  and  Negro  Equality  with  the  Whites. 

Mr.  Clay’s  famous  letter  to  his  biographer,  Colton,  is  so  pertinent  to  the 
present  condition  of  public  affairs,  that  we  publish  it.  The  old-lino  Whigs, 
who  now  co-operate  with  the  Democrats,  will  find  their  old  leader’s  platform 
as  usual,  now  as  it  was  fourteen  years  ago  : 


14 


“  Ashland,  Sept.  2, 1843. 

“  My  Dear  Sir  : — Allow  rr  e  to  select  a  subject  for  one  of  your  tracts,  which, 
treated  in  your  popular  and  condensed  way,  I  think  would  be  attended  with 
great  and  good  effect.  I  mean  Abolition. 

“  It  is  manifest  that  the  ultras  of  that  party  are  extremely  mischievous,  and 
are  hurrying  on  the  country  to  fearful  consequences.  They  are  not  to  be  con¬ 
ciliated  by  the  Whigs.  Engrossed  with  a  single  idea,  they  care  for  nothing 
else.  They  would  see  the  administration  of  the  Government  precipitate  the 
nation  into  absolute  ruin,  before  they  would  lend  a  helping  hand  to  arrest  its 
career.  They  treat  worst,  denounce  most,  those  who  treat  them  best,  who  so 
far  agree  with  them  as  to  admit  slavery  to  be  an  evil.  Witness  their  conduct 
towards  Mr.  Briggs  and  Mr.  Adams  in  Massachusetts,  and  towards  me. 

“  I  will  give  you  an  outline  of  the  manner  in  which  I  would  handle  it :  Show 
the  origin  of  slavery.  Trace  its  introduction  to  the  British  government.  Show 
how  it  is  disposed  of  by  the  Federal  Constitution  ;  that  it  is  left  exclusively  to 
the  States,  except  in  regard  to  fugitives,  direct  taxes  and  representation.  Show 
that  the  agitation  of  the  question  in  the  free  States  will  destroy  all  harmony,  and 
finally  lead  to  disunion — 'perpetual  war — the  extermination  of  the  African  race — 
ultimate  military  despotism. 

“  But  the  great  aim  and  object  of  your  tract  should  be  to  arouse  the  laboring 
classes  of  the  free  States  against  Abolition.  Depict  the  consequences  to  them  of 
immediate  Abolition.  The  slaves,  being  free,  would  be  dispersed  throughout 
the  Union  ;  they  would  enter  into  competition  with  the  free  laborer — with  the 
American,  the  Irish,  the  German — reduce  his  wages,  be  confounded  with  him,  and 
affect  his  moral  and  social  standing .  And  as  the  idtras  go  both  for  Aboliticnism 
and  amalgamation,  show  that  their  object  is  to  unite  in  marriage  the  laboring  white 
man  and  the  laboring  black  woman — to  reduce  the  white  laboring  man  to  the  de¬ 
spised  and  degraded  condition  of  the  black  man. 

“  It  would  show  their  opposition  to  colonization.  Show  its  humane,  reli¬ 
gious  and  patriotic  aim.  That  they  are  those  whom  God  has  separated.  Why 
do  Abolitionists  oppose  colonization  ?  To  keep  and  amalgamate  together  the 
two  races,  in  violation  of  God’s  will,  and  to  keep  the  blacks  here,  that  they  may 
interfere  with,  degrade  and  debase  the  laboring  whites.  Show  that  the  British 
Government  is  co-operating  with  the  Abolitionists  for  the  purpose  of  dissolving 
the  Union,  &c.  You  can  make  a  powerful  article,  that  will  be  felt  in  every 
extremity  of  the  Union.  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  it  will  do  great  good.  Let 
me  hear  from  you  on  this  subject. 

HENRY  CLAY.” 


Negro  Suffrage,  and  Negro  Inferiority. 

BY  HON.  A.  W.  ARRINGTON. 

Chancellor  Kent  says,  2  Com.  258  :  “  The  African  race,  even  when  free,  are 
essentially  a  degraded  caste,  of  inferior  rank  and  condition  in  society.”  These 
are  the  words  of  a  great  master  in  jurisprudence,  one  whose  very  lips  seemed 
luminous  with  learning,  one  who  has  honored  the  American  name  wherever  the 
language  of  our  land  is  read  or  spoken. 

You  set  out  with  the  intimation,  that  I  am  tinged  with  prejudice,  and  “  appeal 
to  the  prejudices  of  my  readers;”  in  other  words,  that  I  entertain  a  contempt 
for  the  negro.”  Now,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  conjecture  the  ground  upon  which  you 
predicate  this  charge ;  because  I  am  conscious  of  opinions  and  feelings  the  very 
reverse  of  what  you  suppose.  Contempt  for  any  production  of  God  and  nature 
in  all  this  wide  universe,  is  as  foreign  from  my  real  sentiments,  as  I  know  it 
must  be  from  yours.  It  is  true,  I  have  avowed  my  belief  that  all  the  colored 
races  are,  at  present,  as  they  have  been  since  the  dawn  of  history,  inferior  to 
the  whites;  and  such  is  the  ethnological  faith  of  the  whole  scientific  world. 
Professor  Agassiz  asserts,  that  “a  peculiar  conformation  distinguishes  the  brain 
of  an  adult  negro;  that  its  development  never  advances  beyond  that  of  a  Cau- 
easin  in  the  stage  of  boyhood,  and  that,  besides  other  singularities,  it  bears,  in 
several  particulars,  a  marked  resemblance  to  the  brain  of  the  orang-outang,” 
Types  of  Mankind,  p.  415.  The  researches  of  Belzont,  Champollion,  Lepsius, 


15 


and  others,  have  produced  from  the  monuments  of  the  Nile,  a  pictorial  record 
of  the  black  race,  stretching  back  into  the  dim  twilight  of  centuries,  two  thou¬ 
sand  three  hundred  years  before  Christ;  yet  the  men  of  that  race,  on  all  the 
tombs  and  temples,  are  painted  in  the  condition  of  slaves.  See  Types  of  Man¬ 
kind,  p.  215,  and  the  authorities  there  cited. 

Every  one  who  has  studied  the  new  science  of  Ethnology,  or  even  read  Count 
Gobineau’b  work  on  the  moral  and  intellectual  Diversity  of -Races,  must  be 
thoroughly  convinced  that  the  amalgamation  of  white  with  black  or  yellow  na¬ 
tions  never  fails  to  result  in  the  degeneration  of  the  former  as  well  as  the  latter. 
The  first  and  most  fatal  effect  is  an  immoderate  licentiousness,  which  under¬ 
mines  gradually  the  energies  of  the  physical  constitution,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
utterly  perverts  all  moral  sentiment.  Moreover,  it  is  now  conceded  by  the  whole 
scientific  world  that  the  colored  race  are,  at  present,  as  they  have  been  since 
history  first  descried  them,  inferior  to  the  whites,  and  not  competent  to  develop 
the  same  civilization  either  in  kind  or  degree.  Hence  the  conclusion  appears  ir¬ 
resistible,  that  elements  so  very  opposite  can  not  possibly  form  a  homogeneous 
political  association.  But  it  is  idle  to  waste  time  in  quotations,  when  the  decisive 
fact  is  universally  known  and  incontestible,  that  the  pure  African  blood  has  never, 
throughout  all  the  ages,  given  birth  to  a  single  great  man,  or  contributed  one  lone 
discovery  to  the  stock  of  human  knowledge;  while  the  fair  Caucasian  family  have 
signalized  every  land  where  they  have  lived  with  the  glory  of  illustrious  names — 

“  stars  in  the  night  of  time” — from  the  ice  of  the  Arctic  circle  to  fiery  light  of  the 
equator.  Does  not  then  the  inference  seem  irresistible,  that  the  soil  of  the  negro 
brain  must  be  strangely  barren,  to  yield  neither  flower  nor  fruitage,  in  so  many 
thousand  years  ?  Do  you  call  this  conclusion  prejudice  ?  If  so,  it  is  a  prejudice 
of  historical  induction,  nay,  an  intuitive  prejudice  of  the  senses. 

But  the  admitted  and  demonstrated  inferiority  of  the  colored  nations,  fur¬ 
nishes  no  sort  of  pretext  or  shadow  of  justification  for  their  enslavement,  and 
every  argument  of  the  kind  must  be  deemed  simply  ridiculous.  Nevertheless, 
the  fact  of  such  inferiority  does  present  an  irrefragable  reason  for  the  exclusion- 
of  the  negro  race  from  the  franchise  of  citizenship  in  a  community  of  whites; 
because  the  former  are  not  fitted  by  nature  or  education  for  participation  in  the 
powers  and  privileges  of  republican  sovereignty,  at  least  in  conjunction  with  the 
latter.  Besides,  if  the  assumption  of  intellectual  equality  were  even  conceded 
to  the  blacks,  it  would  still  be  impossible,  from  the  enormous  divergence  in 
their  social  tendencies,  for  the  two  races  to  develop  a  homogeneous  civilization 
in  one  and  the  same' political  partnership.  The  entire  records  of  the  species 
evince,  by  proofs  as  incalculable  as  they  are  mournful,  the  utter  folly  and  futil¬ 
ity  of  all  attempts  to  constitute  a  prosperous,  permanent,  or  powerful  state  by 
the  intermixture  of  opposite  ethnological  instincts.  Are  you  not  aware  of  the 
significant  circumstance,  that  the  different  races  have  always  manifested  peculiar 
predilections  for  different  forms  of  polity,  in  correspondence  with  their  other 
characteristics,  mental,  moral,  and  esthetic  ?  The  yellow  AsiatiikAflisnlay  an 
invincible  preference  for  theocratic  hierarcliies;  while  the  dusky  Africa 

choose  the  regime  of  petty  despots,  bowing  their  necks  under  the  cruel  yojre  of 
both  political  and  personal  servitude;  but  never  since  the  inception  of  societies,  * 
has  a  colored  people  given  evidence  of  the  faintest  desire,  or  the  most  feeble  ca¬ 
pacity,  for  the  enjoyment  of  Republican  institutions.  The  negroes  especially 
appear  to  be  inclined  to  the  rule  of  unalleviated  tyranny.  The  king  of  Dahomey 
suits  them  well,  as  the  favorite  ornaments  of  his  palace  and  temples  are  the 
skulls  of  enemies  slain  in  battle,  or  immolated  on  tno  altars  of  a  frightful  demon 
worship.  Not  less  appropriate  to  the  national  taste  is  the  holiday  amusement 
of  the  atrocious  monarcn  of  Ashantee,  who,  not  long  ago,  watered  the  grave  of 
his  mother  with  the  blood  of  three  thousand  victims  !  Murray's  Africa,  p.  292. 
Equally  characteristic  was  the  conduct  of  the  black  revolutionists  in  St.  Domin¬ 
go,  marching  to  independence  under  the  standard  of  a  white  infant  impaled 
alive,  and  borne  aloft  on  the  point  of  a  long  stake  1  McQueen's  West  Indies ,  n. 
388. 

Now  do  you  really  think,  that  a  race  which  has  done  and  endured  such 
things,  for  at  least  fifty  centuries,  would  be  a  valuable  addition  to  Ihe  compo¬ 
site  elements  of  our  Democratic  sovereignty  ?  Do  you  not  know  that  the  com¬ 
petency  for  self-government  is  one  of  the  rarest  attainment?  in  all  the  domain* 


16 


of  science  and  art  ?  Your  idea  that  all  the  races  of  men  are  capacitated  for  all 
the  high  prerogatives  of  political  freedom,  is  merely  a  pleasant,  though  wild 
dream  of  your  own  benevolent  heart,  but  one  which  is  wholly  repudiated  by  a 
sober  philosophy,  as  repugnant  alike  to  the  principles  of  human  nature,  ana  to 
all  the  terrible  teachings  of  history. 

Your  allusion  to  the  opinions  of  the  Revolutionary  fathers  on  the  subject  of 
slavery  is  most  unfortunate  for  your  theory.  Are  you  willing  to  be  an  obedient 
and  dutiful  son  of  such  distinguished  sires  ?  Are  you  satisfied  with  being  as 
wise  and  just  as  they,  without  aspiring  to  superior  learning  in  difficult  ques¬ 
tions  of  public  law,  or  greater  purity  in  matters  of  private  morals  ?  But,  you 
will  urge,  that  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  were  all  opposed  to  the  policy  of 
slavery.  Let  the  fact  be  admitted,  yet  does  it  follow,  that  they  were  favorable 
to  negro  citizenship,  or  believed  in  the  equality  of  the  black  race  with  the 
whites?  I  am  myself  opposed  to  slavery  in  every  form  and  under  all  possible 
circumstances— opposed  to  it  in  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  as  well  as  in  America. 
Nevertheless  I  do  not  wash  to  be  a  member  of  the  same  political  partnership 
with  the  dusky  pariahs  of  Hindostan,  the  degraded  white  serfs  of  the  Russian 
empire,  or  the  barbarous  blacks  of  the  African  wilderness.  Nor  am  I  inclined 
to  fire  the  roof  of  the  Temple  of  Liberty  above  my  head,  in  order  to  evince  my 
abomination  of  human  bondage.  The  founders  of  the  Republic,  with  all  their 
hostility  to  slavery,  entered  into  political  fellowship  with  slave  States,  provided 
for  the  rendition  of  fugitive  slaves  to  their  masters,  and  permitted  fresh  import¬ 
ations  from  Africa  during  a  period  of  almost  thirty  years.  Are  you,  who  shout 
“  no  more  slave  States,  and  down  with  the  fugitive  slave  law” — more  holy  than 
they  ?  Do  you  remember  the  terrible  figure  of  Jefferson,  who  compared  the 
people  of  the  South  in  reference  to  the  institution  of  slavery,  to  a  man  having  a 
wolf  by  the  ears?  It  might  be  dangerous  to  hold  on,  but  it  would  be  certain 
death  to  let  go.  Now,  my  friend,  if  you  can  devise  any  rational  method  of 
release  for  the  wolf,  without  the  destruction  of  the  man,  I  will  most  heartily 
co-operate  with  you.  But  until  you  shall  have  invented  such  a  plan,  as  it  is  a 
necessity  of  your  noble  nature  to  be  engaged  in  some  work  of  abolition,  I 
would  suggest  that  you  might,  with  great  profit,  turn  your  attention  to  Africa, 
and  find  a  spacious  field  for  the  expenditure  of  all  your  philanthropy  For  you 
must  know  that  four-fifths  of  all  the  negroes  in  their  own  native  land  are  in  a 
state  of  the  vilest  bondage.  Murray's  Africa,  p.  352.  Have 'you  no  sympa¬ 
thies  for  them  ?  %' 


Senator  Cook  on  Negro  Suffrage. 

Remarks  of  Senator  Cook,  of  Sheboygan,  in  debate  in  the  Wisconsin  Senate, 
on  the  NegmpSuffrage  bill,  in  February  1857  : 

“ heSj/kmSfe  enactments  cannot  change  the  laws  of  Nature.  They  cannot 
define  iron  into  gold — they  cannot  make  the  negro  the  same  as  the  white  man 
•in  his  social  relations  ;  they  cannot  place  him  on  a  level  in  all  respects,  and 
therefore  their  action  is  futile.v.I  am  one  of  those  who  contend  that  there  is  a 
difference  between  the  white  man  and  the  negro,  and  I  do  not  believe  that  the 
negro  is  equal  to  the  white  man  in  mental  capacity.  If  this  bill  were  to  pass, 
I  should  go  for  giving  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  of  holding  office,  to  the  Indian 
as  well  as  the  African. 

“  The  Democratic  party  have  always  been  for  exteeding  the  right  of  suffrage, 
and  Democrats  have  always  been  opposed  by  the  anti-Democrats  on  this  par¬ 
ticular  point.  When  the  Constitution  of  this  State  was  formed,  it  will  not  be  denied, 
that  the  Democrats  were  in  favor  of  extending  the  right  of  suffrage  to  all  white 
citizens  within  the  State,  while  the  opposing  party  would  refuse  to  give  the  right  of 
suffrage  to  the  foreigner,  and  were  unanimous  for  bestowing  it  upon  the 

NEGRO,  WHETHER  BOND  OR  FREE.” 


